OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — The Division of Water Resources is expected to host a public hearing on Thursday on whether the state should give the Tennessee Valley Authority a pollution permit for the Bull Run Fossil Plant to release water into a nearby river.
People will be able to participate in the meeting in person, online, or by calling by phone. It will be held at 761 Emory Valley Road in Oak Ridge
People will also be able to join the meeting through Microsoft Teams, or by calling 1-629-209-4396. The phone conference ID is "750036089#," according to a document from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.
"Years ago, we had concerns about air pollution and they installed the scrubbers to take care of a lot of that," said Sharon Todd, who lives in Claxton and can see Bull Run from her window. "Now, we're concerned about the water quality. The last thing we need is more pollutants headed into the water."
TDEC will host an informal questions and answers period at 5 p.m. before the formal public hearing starts at 6 p.m.
The permit would allow Bull Run Fossil Plant to release cooling water, process wastewater and stormwater runoff from the plant into the Clinch River, near Mile 48, according to the release.
"If a plant is in the process of retiring, or will be soon retired, it qualifies for a permit under that [retirement] category," TVA spokesperson Scott Brooks said. "So we're updating the permit to reflect that... nothing in this process will create any issues for the environment."
Brooks said TVA is requesting to modify its Clean Water Act permit at the Bull Run Fossil Plant to conform it to new regulatory requirements.
He said data demonstrates that activities at Bull Run are not impacting the health of surface water.
"The fish, mayfly, and other aquatic life sampling data indicate these organisms are as healthy downstream from the plant as upstream, which confirms what TVA’s water quality and reservoir health testing has shown for decades," he wrote to 10News. "Bull Run remains in compliance with regulatory requirements."
Bull Run is the only single-generator, coal-fired power plant in the TVA system, according to TVA. The plant is expected to be retired by December 2023, according to their website.